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(More than) changing finance and financing change: Sustainable Finance Lab as catalyst
Whether we like it or not, financiers are indispensable for a transition to a green economy. Yet the incentives of financial institutions and the role that the (private) financial sector can, and is willing to, play are ill understood. Understanding finance is a prerequisite for making progress and uncovering potential frictions and market failures. Adding to this understanding is the core of the presentation.
Starting from analyzing the functioning of the financial sector, the presentation will move to the role of the public sector in financing the transition to the green economy. Questions addressed include: What incentives do financial institutions have? What are the financial frictions in sustainable development? Are current regulatory approaches (e.g. capital regulation of banks) compatible with the desired role of finance? What (financial) market failures exist that warrant government interference? And how to assess existing public financing instruments and measures.
Arnoud Boot is professor of Corporate Finance and Financial Markets at the University of Amsterdam, co-director of the Amsterdam Center for Law & Economics (ACLE) and Chairman of the bank council of the Dutch Central Bank (DNB). He also is chairman of the Sustainable Finance Lab (SFL) and of the European Finance Association (EFA) and directs the Amsterdam Center for Corporate Finance (ACCF), a think tank that seeks to stimulate the dialogue between academics and practitioners.
In his work Arnoud Boot focuses on the broad issue of ‘financialization of society’. In a narrow sense, how should we look at and regulate the financial sector? In a broader sense, how does the increasing emphasis on financial measures (e.g. shareholder value, price data from financial markets, often financial performance measures) affect decision making in general. Does it lead to more myopic and/or opportunistic decision making?
More information on the speaker, his cv and activities can be found on Arnoud Boot's website.